Chapter 59: When the Dark Takes You

Hands crushed my arms from behind, fingers digging into muscle as I was dragged backward. My scream tore out of me raw and wild, my nails scraping uselessly against concrete as my heels slid across the floor.

“Let her go!” Marcus’s voice thundered somewhere to my left, followed by the unmistakable crack of a gunshot.

The sound rang through the warehouse, sharp and violent, ricocheting off steel and stone.

I twisted hard, slamming my elbow back into my captor’s ribs. He grunted, loosening his grip just enough for me to inhale sharply but not enough to break free.

The darkness pressed in from all sides. I couldn’t see Elliot. I couldn’t see Marcus. I couldn’t see Liam or my sister.

All I could hear was chaos.

Boots pounding. Bodies colliding. Someone shouting my name Elliot. Always Elliot.

The man dragging me yanked me toward a side door I hadn’t noticed before. Cold air rushed in as it creaked open, sending goosebumps across my skin.

“No,” I gasped, panic clawing its way up my throat. “No, no”

A hand clamped over my mouth.

“Quiet,” a voice hissed near my ear. “She wants you intact.”

She.

My heart slammed violently against my ribs.

The door slammed shut behind us, plunging us into another stretch of darkness, narrower this time an alley between warehouses, damp and reeking of oil and rust.

I bit down hard on his palm.

He cursed, releasing me just long enough for me to spin and shove him away.

I ran.

My lungs burned instantly, legs pumping on instinct alone as I sprinted down the alley. Gravel cut into my bare palms when I stumbled, but I forced myself upright, ignoring the pain.

I couldn’t stop.

I wouldn’t stop.

A hand brushed my jacket.

I screamed again and collided with a solid chest.

Strong arms wrapped around me, steadying me before I could fall.

“It’s me,” Marcus said urgently. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

I collapsed against him, shaking violently as he shielded my body with his own, his hand firm at the back of my head.

Behind us, footsteps faltered, then retreated.

Marcus exhaled slowly, like he’d been holding his breath for hours. “Elliot’s inside. Liam’s with your sister. We need to move.”

“Did she” My voice broke. “Did she escape?”

“Yes,” he admitted grimly. “But not empty handed.”

My stomach dropped.

“She still has the flash drive,” I whispered.

“And now,” Marcus said, eyes hard, “she knows how far you’ll go for the truth.”

We regrouped five minutes later in the car, engines running, adrenaline still coursing through my veins. Elliot slammed his door shut, pacing once before gripping the roof with both hands, head bowed.

“I should have killed her,” he muttered.

“You didn’t,” I said quietly. “And now we deal with what comes next.”

He looked up at me, eyes dark, raw, haunted. “She’s escalating.”

“So are we,” I replied.

No one argued.

Back at the house, no one slept.

My sister sat curled on the couch, Liam beside her, one arm around her shoulders, his jaw tight as stone. He had blood on his knuckles someone else’s.

Marcus paced, already on his phone, calling in favors I didn’t know he still had.

Elliot stood alone near the window, staring out into the night like it might swallow him whole.

I walked to him slowly.

“She said my father begged,” I whispered. “Did he?”

Elliot flinched.

“Yes,” he admitted. “But not for his life.”

I swallowed. “For me.”

He nodded, pain carving lines into his face. “He begged me to protect you. No matter the cost.”

“And you failed,” I said not cruelly. Just truthfully.

“Yes,” he breathed. “And I’ve been paying for it ever since.”

I leaned against the wall, exhaustion finally crashing over me. “She said my father refused to give her something.”

Elliot closed his eyes. “Names.”

My heart stuttered. “Names of who?”

“Everyone,” he said. “Officials. Judges. Businessmen. People who paid to bury scandals, destroy lives.”

“And you?” I asked. “Were you on that list?”

“No,” he said quickly. Then softer, “But people I loved were.”

The room felt smaller suddenly.

“So what now?” I asked.

Elliot met my gaze. “Now we stop running.”

Marcus looked up from his phone. “I can get us access to her offshore accounts. But we need proof. Something undeniable.”

I thought of the flash drive in her hand. Of her smile.

“She wants a trade,” I said slowly. “That’s why she didn’t kill me.”

Elliot stiffened. “Absolutely not.”

“She wants me,” I continued. “Not my death. My compliance.”

“That’s worse,” he snapped.

“And that’s exactly why it might work.”

Silence fell heavy.

Liam finally spoke. “If she wants leverage, we give her controlled leverage.”

My sister turned sharply. “No.”

“I’m not saying we sacrifice her,” Liam said gently. “I’m saying we bait the trap.”

I looked down at my trembling hands.

“I’ll meet her again,” I said.

Elliot’s voice broke. “You won’t survive a second meeting.”

I stepped closer, placing my hand over his racing heart. “You promised my father you’d protect me.”

“Yes.”

“Then trust me,” I whispered. “Let me fight.”

For a long moment, he didn’t move.

Then, slowly, reluctantly

He nodded.

And I knew, deep in my bones, that the next time I saw her…

Someone wasn’t walking away.

As Elliot finally agreed, my phone vibrated softly in my pocket.

One message.

UNKNOWN NUMBER:

Tomorrow. Midnight. Come alone or your sister pays the price.

And this time… she had learned exactly where to cut.